Protect Your Company Logo Using These Tips

Written by: Joli Ballew • Edited by: Jean Scheid
Updated Sep 10, 2011 • Related Guides: U.S. Patent And Trademark Office | Business Cards

If people recognize your company name by a graphic like a logo, protect it! Register it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and renew it every so often to keep it valid and safe from others using your logo.

The Purpose

Your trademark or logo is what defines your product or service and helps potential buyers recognize your company, product, or service by sight. By registering your mark, you can protect yourself and your company by having the proper paperwork in place.

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Bright Hub has a trademarked logo, shown here. The idea behind having a logo is that the customer will recognize the logo and thus, recognize your brand and know who you are, what you sell, and/or what service you offer.

Make it Unique

Make sure you have fully

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defined and designed your trademark, and you believe it to be unique and unlike any other trademark used by any other company. Your trademark cannot ever be confused with any other trademark, nor should it even be close. For example, if your company name is Boca-Boca, you can’t create a logo that looks like the Coca-Cola logo and replace Coca-Cola with Boca-Boca. First, it’s unethical, second, it’ll never pass the patent search part of the application process.

Perform a Search

You have to perform a trademark search prior to filing for a trademark. A trademark search will help you decide if your logo or trademark is unique. To perform this search, go to the Trademark Electronic Search System database at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. It’s generally best to hire a trademark attorney to help you with this.

Register It!

Once you’re use you have a unique logo or trademark, you can attempt to register your trademark. You can file the application online using the Trademark Electronic Application System web site, part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Note that a trademark will not be granted if your submitted trademark is similar to or may cause confusion with another registered trademark. It's very important to make sure your company logo is unique and distinct from any other registered trademark prior to filing, creating business cards or signs, or otherwise putting the logo in place.

References

The author obtained these images from the Internet and their tradmarks are fully protected.
It is the author's experience that if you create a unique brand logo, you should protect it as quickly as possible, lest someone steal it from you.

logos Jan 2, 2012 8:04 AM

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99designs review Jan 2, 2012 4:36 AM

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Arizona Trademark Attorney Jun 22, 2011 1:34 PM

Trademark Search

You aren't required to perform a trademark search before filing an application, though in most cases it is a recommended step. The Trademark Office will perform a search and reject your application if it finds confusingly similar registered marks, so performing your own search can give you insight into whether this will happen, but there is no requirement that a search be performed before filing.